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As a kid, trick-or-treating was huge! I remember going out with my parents; we’d walk around a few neighborhoods where we knew the most people, and after about an hour we’d return home. Once there, we’d dump out the contents of my plastic pumpkin bucket on the dining room table and sit around divvying up all the treats. I’ve been allergic to chocolate since I was seven years old, so it was common for Mom and Dad to end up with the largest piles of chocolate candies. We never seemed to have an issue with what to do with all the leftover candy, because there was never that much of it. I’d have a few candy desserts the nights after Halloween, unlike that kid at school who bragged about scouring the entire town and coming home with an entire pillowcase filled with candy.

However, as an adult and a party planner, I have gathered some very interesting intel from parents over the years on how to deal with the glut of Halloween night. Here are some of the ways my clients deal with the candy madness...

1. Let your kids eat all they want on Halloween Night -- but as soon as it’s lights out, it’s candy out. All excess candy is then taken from the house.

2. Portion control. After everyone has munched their Halloween fill, let each child choose their favorite 10 pieces of candy. Place them in a jar/bowl, etc. marked with the child’s name. The candy remains theirs for as long as they decide. Some kids will go through the stock in one day, while others will portion it out over a couple weeks. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

3. Set up a little store. Set out fun items that you know your kids love: pencils, erasers, stickers, small toys. Assign a “candy count” number to each item (1 pencil is 4 pieces of candy). Let your kids purchase their items with their candy.

4. Candy trade. Before Halloween, discuss an item or a book that your child might like to have. After Halloween night, have them trade in their candy for their special gift.

5. Make goodie bags. Use the leftover candies to make little treat bags. Store these away and bring them out to give to special guests who come to visit, or as birthday goodie bags.

6. Save it for baking. Store or freeze candies to be used in future baking projects.

7. Trade it in or donate it. There are some great organizations that will take your extra candy, like Any Soldier and Halloween Candy Buy Back. They’ll accept candy to ship to our soldiers overseas. Some dentists have buy-back programs where you can trade in your candy for things like toothbrushes. Sometimes local Red Cross centers, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and churches will also accept candy; you would need to contact them directly ahead of time, though -- don’t just show up on their doorstep with bags of candy!

8. Save candy for future projects, like a gingerbread house. Store candies in airtight containers in a hard to reach place. Just make sure you store chocolate with chocolate only -- chocolate tends to take on the smell and taste of other non-chocolate candies (such as bubble gum) when stored together.

Just a reminder: candy is candy! No matter what plans you make for dealing with it, the only way to be sure that your family members won’t get caught in the middle of the night, teetering on the edge of the counter trying to reach the hiding space over the kitchen cabinets, is to get it outside the house. But then, what’s a little sugar between friends... Hey, I’ll trade you that Snickers bar for a Lemon Head!